PHOTOS
Alicia Grega-Pikul
The form of English most
ec/dc readers use to communicate is what Scranton State School for the Deaf instructor Donna Keller describes as a linear language. This is opposed to the three-dimensions of American Sign Language (ASL), the predominate language utilized by the deaf community in North America, she explained via translator Arnine Weiss.
"Deaf people use a lot of space. There is a lot of action, a lot of body movement, and facial expression involved with the language," Keller signed emphatically.
The English and Drama instructor is the director of an ASL production of
Romeo and Juliet this weekend at SSSD. Students Doug Persing of Mansfield (Romeo) and Carla Kiser of York (Juliet) play the lead roles.
What Keller's students will bring to the stage is not the basic translations you've seen in courtrooms or at keynote speeches.
"These kids are acting. They have become the characters. They understand their characters and their characters' relationship to other people," she stressed.
"We move, we act. We just don't stand there," Persing added. "I have to cry. I get upset. I'm young and I'm in love. So I really step out of being me. It's not easy to make yourself cry."
Still, their hands to have to be visible, which Keller confirmed is a challenge in directing the students.
"We're used to just chatting with each other, but you can't just have regular conversations when you're on the stage," Kiser shared. "You have to make sure your signing is big so people in the back row can see you. So it's got to be huge. You have to be very visible, very clear. You have to show emotions. When I'm just chatting with a friend it's different."
Approximately eight actors will provide a voice translation for the benefit of hearing audience members.
The students have been rehearsing every day after school for the past 10 weeks. Also, consider that it was Keller and the students themselves who translated Shakespeare's verse into ASL. Some words required the equivalent of as many as 10 ASL components to effectively relay the intended meaning. Persing sited a reference to the Roman goddess Diana.
"We can't just say, 'Don't follow Diana' or whatever; we have to explain who she is and what she does. It's one simple word but we really embellish it."
Keiser pointed to a passage in which the Nurse says something bad about Romeo and Juliet replies "Blister'd be thy tongue." It's a line that while sensible to hearing people, had to be altered to get the same impact in deaf culture. The cast translated the phrase as "I hope your hands become diseased."
"It's a big challenge taking Shakespearean language to any other language, and these kids really faced the challenge. They never gave up," Keller praised.